


The Task

by HardiganCaptain



Series: Greek myth Parellel [1]
Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: F/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-11
Updated: 2013-09-11
Packaged: 2017-12-26 06:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/962740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HardiganCaptain/pseuds/HardiganCaptain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A parallel of the PsychexEros Greek Myth. If you don't know it you don't have to look it up or anything but Greek myths are really awesome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Task

The bed felt empty, yards of fabric doing nothing but make the air stifling. Kicking the sheets off your legs, you stared up into the dark and tried to remember that morning came early. It didn’t seem to matter, your body filled with a nervous energy no amount of cleansing breaths could calm. Rolling onto your side you shifted until your cheek found a cool spot on your pillow.

You knew why you couldn’t sleep, though you mentally shied away from the train of thought the moment you realized where it was heading. Right to thoughts of the tall man you’d seen standing on the steps of the court house, his voice echoing on the street. Despite the dangers he was unleashing onto the city, you hadn’t been able to stop your heart from racing as he gestured during his speech. There was something about him that was so raw, like a nerve too long left exposed, the power shaking the air itself as he spoke.

A shift in the air made you jump, your breath stopping as you strained to catch even the whisper of sound. It wasn’t until the bed tilting from weight settling at the edge of it that you could hear the soft hush. Body relaxing, you let out a slow sigh, hearing the body behind you pause. When you said nothing, the bed betrayed his movement with a soft creak as he settled.

At first it had been the odd thing to keep you preoccupied. Paper and pen to write or doodle. Books to read. The occasional movie to play on a television you were sure had been made while the dinosaurs still roamed the earth. 

Then there’d been a variety of treats. A bowl of strawberries, damp with a sprinkling of sugar. Seedless grapes of different colours, bright green to deep purple. Caramels coated with different flavors of chocolate.

You’d been too dazed to question it at first, amused that though he spent little to no time with you, he did try to make sure that you kept him in mind. After a while you noticed that the books all had a common theme, that the television didn’t have cable so you couldn’t keep up with the going ons. A hint of doubt filled you, his visits were so infrequent it was like living with a ghost, and you were suddenly wondering if it wasn’t some kind of set up for hostage taking. 

But you weren’t high in the governing body, weren’t part of the elite that had dragged the city into the mud. So that didn’t really make sense. But still all the things he left out on the table for you were left untouched, eyed suspiciously as though you thought that they could tell you what they were really for. The books soon shifted focus, the subjects chaotically chosen, and still you left them untouched. Eyeing the videos, you tapped your fingers on the tables edge before leaving them untouched as well.

You couldn’t remember when he’d started sleeping with you. It probably had more to do with the fact that there was only one bedroom, and a single bed, than any real urge for your company. But after a month or so you’d woken to his body slipping beneath the sheets, though still apart from yours, the soft hiss of his mask echoing in the dark room. At first it had left you stiff, rigid as you waited half in fear, half in anticipation for what he planned.

As it turned out it was nothing, his body never moved closer, it was yours that sought out the comfort of the heat his body offered. Your face tucking between his shoulder blades, as your palm splayed along his back. The smooth skin of the scars that were scattered along his back, made you curious even in sleep, your fingers lazily tracing over them as you dreamed.

He was always gone in the morning, and at first you wondered if you’d dreamt the whole thing. But there was a scent of among the sheets that wasn’t your own, an odd indent in the pillow case that it took you a while to puzzle out as the imprint of his mask. There were nights when he didn’t come to bed, and it became difficult to sleep without the comfort of his presence. You got irritable when you couldn’t ask him about it, since you never saw him until you were already falling asleep at night.

One night when he didn’t climb into bed, you woke with a start, the fading memory of a nightmare leaving your breath shallow as you sat up. Voices echoed down the hallway, the sound fuzzy in your ears, as you slid out of bed and tip toed down the hallway.

"Why do you keep her, Bane. She has no fire."

"Fire enough."

A feeling of pleasure shot through you, his words making you feel foolishly happy because you couldn’t think of a single thing that you’d done to deserve it. Leaning around the doorjamb, you look into the dimly lit kitchen only to see Bane’s broad shoulders and back, his companion hidden from sight.

"I’m sure. What has she done to show this fire you speak of? I’ve seen no sign of it."

"You haven’t been looking."

"Make her prove it, then. I don’t believe she’s any better than the rest of the worms that have been crawling in the filth they let Gotham become." Her tone was cold, the words were ice that dripped down your spine. "Have her do something worth mentioning."

"Talia…"

"No. I mean it, I don’t think she’s worth the way you’ve been fawning over her. She’s not worth your attention."

"I thought you too old for fits of jealously."

The disbelieving snort made you jump after the long, drawn out silence, moving backwards when you heard one of the chairs scrape against the floor. There wasn’t a sound of footsteps on the old floor boards but a shadow passed beneath the door as someone walked by.

"This is not a fit of jealousy. This is me worried for you, have you grown so desperate."

"Don’t."

"You should have chosen someone more capable of helping you in our cause, not some weak willed,-"

"Enough!"

Moving farther down the hallway, you fought the urge to run, confused about the conversation. You’d never heard the woman’s voice in your life, but it was just as apparent that Bane was comfortable with her. So what did that make you? You who he’d never spoken to, not once in the months that you’d been there had the two of you had any kind of conversation. 

The blanket bunched beneath your fingers as you lifted it, jaw aching as you ground your teeth. A pang settled in your chest and you scowled when you realized it was jealousy. Slowly slipping into the bed, you rolled onto your side facing away from the empty side of the bed. Given the chance you were sure that you could prove it, but you weren’t entirely sure what it was. Later, when the bed gave a soft protest, you startled, knowing without seeing that the weight that joined you was all wrong.

"I don’t know what he sees in you." It was the same soft, feminine voice from before. "You’re not important, you’re weak. Soft. And that is what will get him killed. Protecting something too weak to defend itself."

Your eyes opened to stare into the dark, forcing your breath to remain steady though you couldn’t stop your fingers from curling into a fist. It made your skin crawl, keeping yourself from rolling over to face her, knowing that her eyes were staring at you.

"Have you fucked him?" The word sounded wrong on her tongue, vulgar, but it wasn’t upset that twisted your stomach when she hissed the word, it was anger. It didn’t abate when she continued, her words soft and cajoling as fingers slowly moved through your hair to tuck it behind your ear. If you hadn’t been awake you doubted you’d have felt it. "If you could prove that you were worth the energy he spends on you, the time it appears that he’s wasted… Maybe if you did something so simple as deliver a package. A simple enough task but important."

Her breath ghosted over your ear, someone else’s hair tickling your ear and you couldn’t help shifting to move it, cursing yourself silently for moving.

"Listen closely." And you did, how could you do anything else, the voice soft and almost comforting in your ear. "Tomorrow, when you wake, you will meet a man in the old subway that’s been abandoned and he will give you a satchel. Follow his directions and prove yourself. Very simple, no? Think of how proud he’ll be of you, helping the cause, being strong like he needs you to be."

Before you had a chance to respond, to tell her to go to hell, she was gone. The room feeling colder as you burrowed deeper beneath the blankets. It sounded simple, how hard could it be to pick up a package and deliver it, which made you all the more curious about what kind of package it could be. Tucking your chin against your chest, you curled tighter as you tried to convince yourself that you weren’t going to do what she told you.

Hazy morning light was warm on your skin as you walked, skirting around debris from raids, and fights. Finding the the subway was easy, surprising you made it that far with no trouble, no criminals barring your path and trying to exact a toll from you, no one. The man who stood in the far back of the subway tunnel stared at you, his whole body giving off a vibe that made your throat tighten and your hands clench to fists.

"Here." You almost didn’t catch the bag he threw at you, the soft leather protecting you from the hard corners inside.

"What’s-"

"Do you remember where the stock exchange was? Take the bag down there, turn left and walk three more blocks then leave it inside the door." He glared at you when your mouth opened, the words withering under his gaze. "Don’t look in the bag, that’s none of your business, just do what you’re told."

Dutifully repeating the directions, you felt your brow furrow when he gave you a look of distaste before shooing you away. Arching an eyebrow at him, you stayed where you were, lifting the strap to your shoulder as you kept the battle of wills.

"What’re you standing around here for, just go."

"What’s in the bag?"

"It’s a package, deliver it to the address, that’s all you need to know." You’d have taken it better if he’d snapped, but his tone was dismissive and it rankled you.

You turned, walking out of the tunnel, and blinking at the sun that had risen from behind the buildings. Fingers trailing along the buckle that kept the satchel closed, you were tempted to open it, to look inside, but you swallowed the urge down though you almost choked on it. Finding the building that the stock marketers had spent days in shouting themselves hoarse, you couldn’t fight it anymore. 

Flipping the lock, you lifted the flap and blinked at the thin trickle of smoke that came out of the satchel. Your nose itched, tormenting you before you finally sneezed, your whole body curling with it as your head ached. It left a cloying taste on the back of your tongue, almost making you gag as you swallowed to try and get rid of it.

Eyes opening the street seemed drenched in fog, and you shook your head trying to shake your vision clear, It didn’t work. Still, you’d said you’d get the stupid bag to the address and you would. Footsteps unsteady, you walked the last three blocks and almost fell flat on your face trying to make it up the steps. The door opened easily and you placed the bag inside, unable to bring yourself to cross the threshold.

Two hours later, you would swear you were going mad, daylight had long since ended and there was sounds coming from the houses around you that you couldn’t understand. Whispers, soft hisses that made your skin crawl. Your hand shook on the door knob, slipping off when you tried to twist it before finally managing to open it and fall inside. 

It’s dark inside, the lack of light pressing against you, your breath catching in your chest. Scrambling to your hands and knees, you tried to push yourself to your feet only to fall again. Fingers curling into fists, you fought against the rise of nausea. A soft click of heels caught your attention, your body moving backwards as you scrambled to press your back against the door.

"Oh, are you alright? Poor little sparrow." The thick purr made you close your eyes, your hands covering your ears, as if that would make it go away. Your eyes flew open when unrelenting fingers pulled your hands away, breath ghosting over your face. "Look at the coward, see how she shivers. I knew you weren’t worthy of the attention he gave you."

The hissed words made you cringe, the single voice sounding like a multitude as the eyes glowed inches from your face. Yanking your wrists free, you shoved, surprised when the oppressive presence fell away, scrambling to your feet and running up the stairs towards your room. A scream choked off in your throat when you ran into something, something that grabbed you and held you despite how you struggled to get loose.

"Stop." the word echoed in your ears, making your bones vibrate with the command in it.

Going limp, your fingers gripped the hard edged clothing, swallowing the urge to run even as the hands slowly smoothed over arms. Your eyes slowly lifted upwards, and your struggles started again at the demonic face that stared down at you. Teeth like daggers, its breath sounding as though it came from the scraping of knives along stone, and its face was split along the center as its eyes danced like hell fire. 

"Breathe."

A shallow gasp, a slow inhale, before your breathing returned to normal. Its face was hideous to look at but the fingertips slowly skimming through your hair and over you face were more influential than you thought they could be. Eyes closing, your breath shuddered as you concentrated on the sensation of touch, a soft whimper escaping you when the feeling vanished.

"Do not move."

You weren’t sure how long you stood there, forcing your breathing to remain calm, but you screamed when something bit you on the shoulder. It felt like teeth had pierced through your shoulder and you made a move to dart away even before your eyes opened, footing clumsy as you felt yourself begin to fall.

Light woke you, pale, feeble against the back of your eye lids, your hand lifting to shade them. Opening your eyes to find yourself staring up a familiar canopy of red velvet, you sat up suddenly regretting the action immediately. Head pounding, you closed your eyes tightly, curling forward to cradle in in your hands as you swallowed back the pained sounds in your throat.

"I’m pleased you have recovered."

At first the thrumming in your ears was the only thing you heard, your head lifting from your hands when you realized that someone else was in the room with you. The shadows hid the man as he sat in an over sized chair, the tips of his boots seeming to glow as the rest of him was cloaked. There were flashes of light around your vision, and you blinked trying to chase them away, body feeling heavy as you forced yourself to remain upright.

"You have been very foolish."

"How?" Your throat felt raw, your hand lifting to trail your fingers over it. 

"Pandora."

Blinking in confusion it took you a moment to place the obscure reference, your cheeks flushing, leaving you lightheaded as you dropped your gaze to your lap. The bed shifted a moment later, the sound of the canopy rungs moving along the rod making you jump. Sitting at the end of the bed was Bane, his hand still lightly resting on the fabric he’d pulled to hide your face from the light of day as he looked at you curiously.

"Never again. You follow my orders and no one else’s, do you understand?"

"She-" His eyes narrowed at you, shoulders shifting as he straightened, and you smiled sheepishly at him before nodding.

"You do still," he paused, the sound of his breath hissing softly through the mask several times before continuing. "You wish to stay, yes?"

"Of course." You snorted softly before letting out a soft cry at the pain that flared through your sinuses to pierce your head. 

"Good." His fingers lightly shifted through your hair, pressing gently against your neck just beneath the curve of your skull, the pain ebbing away slowly. "Recover and we will find a task suitable for you. Of my choosing."

"What if I don’t like it?" His silence had the teasing lilt of your lips fading away, your shoulders stiffening defensively.

"We will find something else."

"Did you have something in mind already? It’s not going to be like what that woman sent me to do is it?"

"Talia." He corrected, his eyes meeting yours and holding them. "It would be not so different than your current task."

"But I don’t have a current tas-"

"You are my companion, can you not be content with that?"

His thumb brushed over your lower lip as you nodded your head, the rough pad pressing against it lightly before he was suddenly moving.

"Then you have your task."


End file.
